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E. L. SMITH ETAL WRAPPING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 26, 1921 Re.18,341 7 Sheets-She?) 1 Jan. 26, 1932.

INVENTOR SMITH ET AL Jan. 26, 1932.

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Original Filed Sept. 26, 1921 ,7 sheets sheet 5 INVE TOR M mama.

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ATTORNEYS E. L. SMITH ET AL WRAPPING MACHINE Original Filed Sept. 26.1921 Jan. 26, 1932.

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- [NV TZRS y w aM ATTORNEYS E. L. SMITH ETAL Jan. 26, 1932.

a m 5 of M 8m rm IN T .S A e 1 Ru 8 h S 7 1 2 9 1 6 M2 Mm. m x m wn m?W1 a n 1 g 1 r o E. L. SMITH ETAL 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 1 2 9 1 E v H C Q mPu. m 1 a. m I. r 0

. Jan. 26, 1932.-

EN 0R5 M gym r ATTORNEYS EkLhSMITH ELAL WRAPPING MACHINE Original Fil edSept; 26, I921 Jan. 26, 1932., Re. 18,341

7 Sheets-Sheet 7 ATTORNEYS Reissued Jan. 26, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE ELMER L. SMITH, OF LONG-MEADOW, AND FREDERIC B. FULLER, OFSPRINGFIELD,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS T0 PACKAGE MACHINERY COMPANY, FIELD,MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS or seame- WRAPPING MACHINEreissue filed November 19,

In wrapping rectangular packages or cartons it is often desirable toapply labels or seals to the opposite ends of the package, after thewrapper has been placed thereon, these labels being useful for Variouspurposes such as displaying advertising matter, trademarks or the like,or for trimming the package, so as to add to the general attractivenessthereof. In addition, such labels perform the function of sealing thewrapper and maintaining or assisting in maintaining it in place upon thepackage.

One obJect of the present invention is to devise an improved machine forapplying wrappers and labels to articles, which will effect asubstantial saving in the amount of wrapping material used withoutpermitting any portion of the article to be exposed or causing thewrapper to be any less efl'ectively sealed.

To this end one feature of the invention consists in a machine forpartially enclosing an article by a piece of wrapping material and thencovering the unenclosed ortion of said article by a separate piece 0material acting as a seal. The method of wrapping performed by themachine is specifically dey scribed and claimed in the Smith and FullerPatent 1,718,441, June 25, 1929. u

In carrying out this method the Wrappers are preliminarily cut to a sizelarge enough to cover the sides of the article to, be wrapped and toprovide narrow extensions adapted to be folded over the end faces of thearticle in the form of flaps which are not wide enough to cover morethan the marginal portions of said end faces. Labels or seals,approximately the shape and size of the end faces of the package, arethen affixed to the ends of the article, overlapping the end flaps ofthe wrapper and constituting the sole covering, other than said endflaps,for the ends of the article. By this method wrappers may beemployed which are considerably smaller than heretofore consideredpractical to use and thus a substantial saving of wrap. ping material iseffected, while the labels serve to cover the ends of the package and toseal the wrapper in as effectual a manner as Application for 1931.Serial No. 576,185.

would be the case if a wrapper of the usual size were employed.

Another object of the invention is to reorganize -wrapping machines ofthe general character above indicated and to provide certain new-anduseful improvements in their construction and mode of operation for thepurpose of producing a machine of simplified and thoroughly practicalconstruction which is capable of running smoothly at high speed, andwhich, in many other respects, is adapted tooperate more efliciently andreliably than those heretofore produced.

. To the accomplishment of this object and such others as mayhereinafter appear, the invention resides in the features ofconstruction and the combinatlons and arrangements of parts hereinafterdescribed and particusv pointed out in the appended claims, the

larly advantages of which those skilled in the art.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings illustrating what is now considered to be the preferredembodiment thereof.

In the drawings,-

Fig.1 is a View, in side elevation, of th improved machine, certainparts being omitted and others broken away or shown in section tofacilitate the illustration of the more important features of theinvention;

Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of one of the wrapper-folding members andcertain devices associated therewith;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a portion of the delivery end ofthe machine, this V i8W together with Fig. 1 forming a side ele-'vation, partly broken away, of the entire machine;

Figs. 4 to 8, inclusive, are perspective views of one end of an articleillustrating various steps in the wrapping process;

Fig. 9 is a sectional View taken substantially on'the line 9-9 of Fig. 1and showing the mechanism for feeding and positioning will be apparentto the wrappers and also the transporters foradvancing the articlesduring certain stages of the wrapping operation;

Fig. 9a is a view illustrating a wrapper feeding mechanism;

detail of the I Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view of a portion of thewrapper-feeding mechanism;

Fig. 11 is a detail view of a portion of the means for actuating thewrapper-feeding mechanism, the parts being viewed from the receiving endof the machine;

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the movements of thetransporters;

ig. 13 is a detail plan view of a portion of the mechanism for feedingthe articles through the machine;

Fig. 14 is a view, partly in side elevation, of a portion of theopposite side of the machine from that shown in Fig. 1, this viewillustrating particularly the mechanism for actuating the label-applyingmechanism and the delivery conveyer; I

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig.13 and illustrates particularly one of the label-applying devices;

Fig. 16 is a detail view, in horizontal section, taken on a plane whichis below the label-applying drum shown in Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on a plane extendmglhorizontally through the label-applying rum and the sup ly magazine;

1g. 18 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of oneof thesuctiontubes of the labelapplying mechanisms;

Fig. 19 is a longitudinal sectional view'of the greater part 0 themachine, the view being taken in a vertical plane midway between theside frames of the machine and being on a somewhat smaller scale thanFig. 1;

Fig. 20 is a detail view, partia ly in end elevation and partially insection of the parts shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 21 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 21-21 ofFig.19;

Fig. 22 is a sectional view' taken substantially on the line 2222 ofFig. 19; and

F g. 23 is a detail sectional view on the line 2323 of Fig. 21.

In the illustrated embodimentof the invention, the articles to bewrapped, in the present instance rectangular cartons, are received atone end of the machine upon a conveyer 20 (Fig. 1) consisting of one ormore endless belts which advance the articles transversely to anelevator 22 as the latter 'eriodically reaches its lowermost position.rior to'each upward movement of the elevator 22, a flat paper wrapper isapplied, at one side of the machine, to wrapper feeding and positioningdevices 24 (Fig. 9) and transferred by the latter to a position abovethe elevator 22 and across the path of'movement of the articles thereonas indicated by the dotted line 26 in Fig. 1, the wrapper overlying bothsides and ends of the article. The article is then raised by theelevator to the position occupied b .thearticle I in Fig. 1,where it'iswithin the eld of operations of a transarticle.

porter 30 (Fig. 12). During the rise of the article in the elevator, theupper face of the' article engages the wrapper, lifting it with thearticle and drawing it over the guiding faces hereinafter to bedescribed which lay it smoothly against the opposite sides of the Whenthe elevator has reached its uppermost position it immediately starts todescend leaving the article momentarily supported in the position of thearticle I. The wrapper then extends below the article, at both sidesthereof, and a suitable device is actuated to fold the extension at theside adjacent the receiving end of the machine beneath the package andagainst the bottom face thereof. The transporter 30 then operates toadvance the article, step-by-step and in a sidewise direction along ahorizontal feed table 32. As the article is fed across the edge at thereceiving end of the feed table 32, the unfolded downward extension ofthe wrapper is folded over the bottom face of the article and during thecontinued passage of the article across the feed table various devicesoperate to fold the end extensions of the wrapper against the end facesof the article. As the article approaches the delivery end of the feedtable 32, the wrapping operation is completed by the application oflabels to the opposite ends of the article. This is accomplished bymeans of two labelapplying mechanisms which are arranged to cooperatewith the opposite ends of the article, one of these mechanisms beingindicated generally at 34 in Figs. 14 and 15. wrapped and labeledarticles are then introduced between a constituting a de ivery conveyerand also means for applying endwise pressure to the articles to maintainthe labels firmly in place during the setting of the glue or paste bymeans of which they are secured to the articles. The belts 36 areintermittently driven to slowly advance the packages so as to insureample time for the glueto become set before the articles are finallydischarged.

- To render the machine capable of operating smoothly and efiiciently athigh speed, the use of cams, except in the label-applying mechanism, hasbeen eliminated and continuous rotary motion has been, to a largeextent, substituted for reciprocating or intermittent movements; Inpractice, the machine has been found to operate satisfactorily at anunusually high rate of speed with very little noise or vibration. Thenumber of articles which have been wrapped per minute in the presentmachine is considerably greater than that wrapped by any machine of thischaracter heretofore produced 'so far as the inventors are aware. 1

The various component mechanisms of the machine are supported by a framecomprising vertical side members 40 which are rigidly connected bysuitable tie-rods. Extendlng Theair of belts 36 (Fig. 3) v transverselyof the frame of the machine and mounted in suitable bearings carriedthereby, is a horizontal drive-shaft 42 that is provided, at one end,with the usual fast and loose pulleys (not shown) whereby it is adaptedfor connection with any suitable source of power. A hand wheel may beprovided at the opposite end of the drive-shaft 42 to facilitate themanual turning over of the mechanism inmaking adjustments or re pairs.The drive-shaft 42 is connected through intermeshing spur gears 44 witha counter shaft 46 and the latter shaft is, in

turn connected through intermeshing spur gears 48- with a parallel shaft50, the shafts 46 and 50 being suitably journaled adjacent theiropposite ends in the side frame members 40. The gears 44 and 48 areproportioned to effect a substantial reduction of the speed of thedriven shaft 50 below that of the driving shaft 42. parts of the machinederive their motion from the shaft 50 through the medium of powertransmitting mechanism hereinafter to be described.

The articles to be wrapped are supplied to the receiving conveyer 20. Asshown, the conveyer 20 consists of two endless belts (Figs. 1, 13, and22) arranged edge to edge in spaced apart relationship and both passingover two pairs of pulleys 54 and 56. The pulleys 54 are fast upon thedriven shaft 50 and the pulleys 56 are mounted to turn freely inbearings 58 at the receiving end of the machine. The upper stretches ofthe con veyer belts 20 travel in the direction of the arrow 60 (Fig. 1)across a supporting table 62 and between vertical guiding walls 64 whichrise from said table. The table 62 is rigidly secured to the frame ofthe machine and carries at its forward end a bracket 66 supporting thebearings 58 for the pulley 56 The articles operatedupon, which in thepresent instance are packages or cartons of the usual slightly elongatedrectangular form, are deposited transversely upon the upper stretch ofthe conveyer 20 and are advanced thereby, in a sidewise direction towardthe elevator 22. The elevator 22 comprises a pair of rectangularplatforms 66 (Figs. 1 and 13) which are vertically movable in unisonwithin the walls of an elevator well 68 and are adapted tosimultaneously. engage the opposite ends of the article to be raisedthereby. From an examination of Fig. 13 it will be observed that the twoelevator platforms 66 are arranged closely adjacent the oppositelongitudinal edges of the conveyer belt 20 and that said belt isnarrower than the length of the articles which are arranged crosswisebetween the guiding walls 64. It will consequently be apparent that theopposite ends of the articles will project beyond the edges of theconveyer belts and will over- The various operative lie the elevatorplatforms 68 when introduced into the elevator well.

The elevator well 68 consists of a foursided rectangular tube-likestructure that is rigidly supported by means of one or more uprights 70, the latter being secured at their lower extremities to a cross-bar 72which is in'turn rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the frame ofthe machine and serves to limit the downward movement of the elevatorplatforms 66. The elevator well 68 is constructed and arranged with itsside walls closely adjacent the sides of the article upon the elevatorplatforms 66 so as to prevent displacement of the article as it israised by the elevator. The lower portion of the wall at the forwardside of the elevator well is turned outwardly and upwardly to form aguiding lip 74' and to produce an opening 76 below said lip throughwhich the articles may be loaded upon the elevator platforms. The lip 74 engages the upper faces of the articles as they are about to enter theelevator well and serves to prevent possible upward displacementthereof. The articles are prevented from passing beyond the elevator bymeans of the rear wall of the elevator well.

The articles or packages are supplied at a sufiicient rate to thecontinuously operating conveyer 20 and the latter is driven at such aspeed as to continuously maintain a horizontal row of articles adjacentthe elevator well 68. This row of articles is constantly urged, by theaction of the conveyer, in a direction to advance the foremost articleof the row through the opening 7 6 in the forward wall of the elevatorwell. After the article has been delivered upon the elevator platformsand the latter have risen above the horizontal plane of the row ofarticles on the conveyer 20, the row is prevented from advancing so asto feed an article into the well beneath the elevator platforms by meansof buffers 7 8 consisting of vertical strips depending from the elevatorplatforms and movable vertically therewith. When the elevator againreturns to its lowermost position, beneath'the plane of the row on theconveyer 20, the row is again advanced to load another article upon theelevator platforms.

The wrappers for the articles are supplied to themachine in the form offlat sheets of paper. A vertical stack of such sheets may be suitablysupported adjacentthe farther side of the machine Fig. 1) and anysuitable form of sheet feeding means may be employed suitable for thussupplying wrappers to the present machine is disclosed in United StatesLetters Patent No. 1,298,685, granted April 1, 1919, to H. O. Fischerand assigned to the Package Machinery Company.

Associated with the wrapper feeding and positioningmechanism 24 of thepresent machine is a pair of channel-shaped guiding and sup ortingmembers 80 (Figs. 1 and 9) rigidly s cured to the under side of the feedtable 32. These guiding and supporting members 80 extend transversely ofthe machine and are arranged with their channels opposed to receive andsupport the opposite edges of the wrapper sheets. The guiding members 80extend outwardly beyond the wrapper feeding and positioning mechanism24, as shown in Fig. 9, and the opposite edges of the sheets areintroduced therein by the sheet feeding means which is employed tosupply the sheets to the machine. The wrapper feeding and positioningmechanism 24 comprises a pair of gripper devices 82 each consisting of afixed gripper jaw 84 and a movable gripper jaw 86, the latter adapted tocooperate with j the former to grip the forward edges of the wrappersheets. The two pairs of gripper jaws, only one of which is shown, areseverally mounted upon carriages 88 which are adapted to reciprocateupon horizontal guidebars 90 to advance the wrapper sheets into positionabove the packages to which they are supplied. The guide-bars 90 arerigidly secured in any suitable manner to the frame of the machine and,as shown, each bar is of rectangular cross-section to prevent therespective carriage 88 from turning as it reciprocates thereon.

' To reciprocate the gripper devices 82, the carriages 88 are severallyconnected with the upper stretches of a pair of sprocket chains 94, eachchain 94 passing over a pair of sprocket wheels 96 and 98. The sprocketwheel 96 is secured to a horizontal shaft 100 which extendslongitudinally of the machine and is suitably journaled in bearings onone of the side frame members 40. The sprocket wheel 98 is mounted toturn upon an axle 102, the latter being supported at its opposite endsby bearing brackets 104 that are rigidly secured to the adjacent framemember 40. The ends of the brackets 104 are provided with slots 106,said slots being arranged to permit adjustment of the axle 102 towardsand from the-sprocket wheel 96 to take up slackness of the sprocketchain. To secure the axle 102 in adjusted position, nuts 108, which arethreaded upon its opposite ends, may be tightened to bear against theadjacent sides, of the bracket 104. p

The shaft 100, together with the sprocket wheel 96 is rotatedalternately in opposite directions by means of crank-actuated rack andpinion mechanism, best shown in Fig. 11. This mechanism comprises apinion 114 fast on the forward end of the shaft 100 and a rack 116meshing with said pinion. The rack 116 is secured to the side of anupright lever 118 which is provided with a longitudinal slot 120 throughwhich the forward end of the shaft 100 extends. At its lower end, thelever 118 is connected by a crank-pin 122 with a crank-arm 124, thelatter being carried at the forward end of a horizontal shaft 126 thatis journaled in hearings on the frame of the machine. The shaft 126extends longitudinally of the machine and, as shown in Figs.

1 and 14, the rear extremity of said shaft carries a bevel gear 128which 'meshes with a bevel gear 130. As the shaft 126 and crankarm 124rotate, the lever 118 and the rack 116 carried thereby are reciprocatedand shaft 100 and sprocket wheel 96 are oscillated alternately inopposite directions so that the sprocket chain 94 is caused to travelback and forth across the machine. The gripper carriages 88 aretherefore reciprocated upon the guide-bars 90.

The movable gripper jaws 86 are actuated to cooperate with the fixedgripper jaws 84 to seize the wrappers prior to each feed movement of thegripper carriages 88 and the jaws 86 are actuated to release thewrappers just before the completion of the feed movements of the grippercarriages. The construction and mode of operation of each of the movablegripper jaws 86 is identical and these jaws are actuated by separatedevices which are also the same in construction and mode of operation,Accordingly it will be necessary to describe in detail only one of saidjaws together with its respective actuatin means. i

Referring to F ig. 9, the gripper jaw 86 therein shown is secured to ahorizontal rockshaft 184 which is mounted to turn freely in the grippercarriage 88, in order that said gripper aw may cooperate with the fixedgripper jaw 84. Extending from the rockshaft 134. forwardly of the jaw,is an arm 136 connected by a spring 138. with the carriage 88, thetension of the spring tending to rock the shaft 134 in a direction tohold the gripper jaw 86 in cooperative engagement with the fixed gripperjaw 84 so as to firmly grip a wrapper.

The gripper jaw 86 is auomatically swung downwardly away from the fixedjaw 84 to release the wrapper, and said jaw 86 is caused to swingupwardly to cooperate with the fixed jaw to grin the wrappers b means ofmechanisms which will now be described.

The gripper actuating mechanism comprises a horizontal slide-rod 142frictionally mounted in a longitudinal recess of said carriage 88 andextending from each side thereof so as to be carried back and forth withsaid carriage and yet be capable of sliding movement relative thereto.The slide-rod 142. is square in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 10, sothat it cannot twist in the grippercarriage and the upper face of theslide-rod is provided with a notch 144 having a curved wall to be.gagement wit-h the upper face of the sliderod and thereby to open thegripper jaws. For the purpose, one projecting end of the slide-rod 142is adapted to be engaged by a stop 148 carried by one of the guide bars90 at the side of the, machine at which the wrappers are supplied, whilethe other projecting end of the slide-rod 142 is adapted to be engagedby a stop 150 carried by said guide bar at the opposite side of themachine. Both of the stops 148 and 150 are preferably constructed asindicated in Fig. 96;. As therein shown, the

stop 150 is in the .form of a plunger which protrudes from a suitablepocket containing a stiff snrin' 152 which backs up the plunger andpermits it to yield slightly when engaged bv the slide rod thusabsorbing the shock and deadening the noise resulting from the impact ofthe rod against the stop. The spring 152 is backed up by a bolt 153which may be adjusted to vary the compression of the spring.

As the gripper carriage 88 moves toward the side of the machine to whichthe wrappers are supplied, the gripper jaws are open,

ready to receive the edge of a wrapper between them, the jaws being heldopen by the engagement of the roller 146 with the fiat top face oftheslide-rod 142, the notch 144 then being positioned to the left 30fthe roller (viewing Fig. 9) and the left end of the sliderod pro ectingconsiderably beyond the left end of the carriage. As the carriage 88ap-v proaches the position in which it a pears in Fig. 9, the left endof the slide-ro 142 engages the stop 148 and the movement of theslide-rod is arrested. The carriage continues a short distance however,so that when the limit of its movement in this direction is reached, theroller 146 is moved into the notch 144 by the action of the spring 138and the gripper jaws are yieldingly closed upon I the edge of thewrapper which is positioned in the channel-guides 82.

- The gripper carriage then starts its wrapper feeding movement (towardthe right in *ig, 9)'and the gripper jaws are maintained closed upon thewrapper so as to advance it into position-above the, article upon theelevator. 'As the gripper carriage approaches the limit of itswrapper.feeding movement,

3 the right end of the slide-rod 142 strikes the stop150, whereby themovement-of the sliderod is arrestedwhile the continued movement-v ofthe gripper carriage causes the roller 146 to ride out of the notch 144onto the upper face of the slide-rodeo that the gripper jaws arepositively opened, against the action of the spring 138, to release thewrapper.

In order that the wrapper shall be positioned in proper relation to thearticle. to be wrapped it is necessarythat the feed movement of eachwrapper shall be-stopped with accuracy when the wrapper reaches acertain definite position. It is found desirable to arrest the feedmovement of the wrapper by bringing its advance edge into engagementwith one or more stops which may be adjustably positioned in the line offeed of the wrapper sheets. To this end the gripper jaws are arranged toopen somewhat before the gripper carriage completes its feed stroke anda pair of stops 156 one at each side of the feed mechanism, are locatedat proper points in the plane of the wrapper to engage the forward edgeof the wrapper as it advances under momentum after being released by thegripper jaws, and to arrest the advance of the wrapper when it hasreached the desired position. These stops 156 may be supported in anysuitable manner with provision for adjustment in the direction of feedof the wrappers. Inasmuch as the machine is designed to operate at highspeed the gripper carrlages reciprocate rapidly so that the and normallyin yielding contact with one another. are curved outwardly, as shown, tofacilitate the entrance between them of the advance edge of the wrapper.As the edge of the wrapper enters between the fingers of .the

control device 158 said fingers operate, by

virtue of their frictional contact with the upper and lower sides of thewrapper, first 'to reducesomewhat the momentum of the wrapper, and then,aftep'the wrapper has engaged the stops 156, to prevent the wrapper fromrebounding so that it will be brought to rest with accuracy in thedesiredposition. The stops 156 may be adjusted relatively to the controldevices 158 so as to vary the distance traveled by the wrapper after ithas encountered the frictional resistance of said control device andthereby to regulate. the

rate of movement ofythe wrapper when it: actually engages the stops. i

As the wrapper is advanced by the feed movement of the gripper devices82 into .position for application to thearticlegto be The extreme endsof the device 158 i wrapped, the apposite edges of the wrapper,

which lie in the channel guides 80, are supported and guided by thelatter while a part of the intermediate portion of the wrapper issupported by the upper edges of the walls of the elevator well.

While the wrapper is bein fed, a line of paste is applied,'by-any suitale means (not shown), tothe under side of the wrapper, adjacent the edgewhich extends toward the delivery end of the machine. As the elevator 22rises and the article thereon engages the wrapper, the wrapper is raisedthereby from its horizontal plane and its edges are with drawn from thechannel guides 80. As the edge of the wrapper at the right side of thearticle (viewing Fig.1 is pulled out of its respective channel gui e 80this paste bearing portion of the wrapper tends to fall against variousparts of the mechanism be? low it, and if this is not prevented, saidparts will become coated with paste. To prevent this condition fromoccurring, two wrapper supporting and guiding bars 162 (Fig. 1) extendtransversely across the machine in advance of the article andjust below]the plane occupied by the wrapper as it is being fed. These bars 162 suport the portion of the wrapper at the si e of the article and hold itaway from other parts of the machine. In

order that the line 'of paste shall not be rubbed off from the wrapperas the latter is drawn across the bars 162, the bars are formed with aseries of upwardly projecting prongs- 164, that are adapted to engagethe wrapper.

These prongs 164 provide point bearings which are well adapted toproperly support the wrapper but which do .not have any tendency toremove the paste therefrom. As shown 1n Fig. 9, the prongs 164 areadvantageously beveled somewhat toward-the front' 11nd to the deliveryend of the'machine to' minimize the area of contact between the prongsand the paste carrying portion ,of the wrap er so that the wrapper willride easily over t e prongs during its feeding movement.

To facilitate the rapid operation of 'the machine it is desirable thatthere shall be no appreciable dwell of the gripper devices 82 after theyhave gripped a new wrap er and are about to reverse their direction 0?movement preparatory to feeding the wrapper into the machine. It isfurther desirable that I a comparatively greater interval of time shallelapse after each of the gripper devices 82 have reachedthat portion oftheir feed stroke ,where the gripper jaws are released from the wrapper,and before the gripper devices,

upon their return strokes, have again reached said point. By referringagain to Fig. 11 it will be seen that the mechanism for actuating thesprocket chains 94 which reciprocate the gripper carriage 88 is desi nedto accomlish the above stated desira le results in the ollowing manner:When the crank arm'124 idle or return strokes, i. e.', in the positionin which one of said carriages appear in Fig. 9. At this time a rapidreversal in the direction of movement of the gripper carriages iseffected by reason of the fact that almost the entire amount of movementof the crank-pin 122 is then effective to impart endwise move-g ment tothe rack 116. .Thus there is no unnecessary loss of time at this pointin the wrapper feeding operation. When, however, the crank-pin 122 isapproaching and passing beyond dead center in the lower portion ofitsorbit, a considerable portion of its travel then operates to swing therack 116 about the shaft 100 substantially without endwise movement ofthe rack. As a result,

the reversal in the direction of movement of the gripper carriages 88 isthen much slower than at the opposite end of the stroke of the carriageand ample time is allowed for the wrapper to be withdrawn from the pathof 90 the gripper jaws beforethe gripper carriages get under way. ontheir return movement. By thus varying the speed of reversal of thegripper carriages at opposite ends of the travel it is possible toshorten the overthrow or idle travel of the gripper carriages afterreleasin the wrapper and thus shorten the width of the machine.

After a wrapper has been positioiiedfas #4:? above described forapplication to the article og upon'the elevator 22, the elevator israised to engage the wrapper and force the article, together with theportion of the wrapper engaged thereby, upwardly through a spaceadjacent the receiving end' of the feed 1105 table 32. To this end, theelevator platforms 66 are raised and lowered in unison by theoscillation of a pair of arms 172*(Fig. 1) which are severally securedat one end, to a horizontal rockshaft 174,'while the opposite 119 endsof said arms have pin and slot connections 176 with the lower ends of apair of vertical rods 178 upon the upper ends of which the elevatorplatforms 66 are severally carried. The elevator platforms 66 are 115guided, in their up and down movements, by means of guideways 180 thatare formed in members carried b a bracket 182 depending from a portion 0the machine frame and through which: the elevator supporting rods 178extend. It will be noticed that the buffers 78 are secured at theirlower extremities to the vertical rods 178 whereby the buffers areprevented from yielding under the pressure of the stack of articles onthe conveyor 20. The rockshaft .174 extends transversely of themachineand is journaled in bearings in the opposite side frames .40. Therockshaft 174 projects beyond the side frame 40', on the side of themachine to which the wrappers are supplied, and to this projecting endofthe rockshaft is secured an upwardly extending arm 184, as shown in Fig.14. The upper portion of the arm 184 is provided with a longitudinalgroove 186 to receive a rectangular slide-block 188 that is pivotallymounted upon a crank-pin 190, the latter being carried by a crank-arm192 that is secured to one end of the shaft 50. With this construction,the arm 172 is continuously oscillated in such a way as to cause no jaror vibration of the machine. The arrangement of the parts is such thatthe crankpin 190 passes dead center when the elevator is in its highestand lowest positions and as I a result the reversal in the direction ofmove-- ment of the elevator is slowenough' to permit proper loading andunloading of the articles, thus avoiding the necessity of intermittentlyactuated elevator operating mechanism.

As the article and its wrapper are carried upwardly by the elevator 22,the portion of the Wrapper lying upon the top face of the article ispressed firmly against said face by a presser-foot 200 (Figs. 1 and 19)which prevents relative movement between the wrapper and the article.The presser-foot 200 is carried at the lower end of a vertical stem 202that is suitably supported and guided in a tubular guideway 204 which isformed in a fixed longitudinal beam 238 which. latter extendslongitudinally and centrally between the side frames 40 and is sup.-

ported on the cross rods 240. The cross rods 240 connect opposite sideframes 40 of the machine. A fixed abutment is provided for the packagesmoving up on the elevator 22 which comprises a pair of stop plates 205(Fig. 1) one at each side of the yielding presser-foot 200. The stopplates 205 are carried on fixed longitudinal bars 304, supported fromcross rods 305. extending from the central beam238 (see Fig. 9). Thestop plate 205 assists in positioning the article vertically preparatoryto its delivery to the feed table 32.

During the rise of the article upon the elevator, a portion of thewrapper is engaged by a. fixed folding member 206 consisting of atransverse bar hung from a fixed portion 239 depending from the beam238. One end of the bar 206 is bent at right angles as shown in Fig. 2,and is secured to the frame of the machine. The folding member 206serves to press the wrapper against the side of the article as thelatter rises past said member. The wrapper at the opposite side of thear ticle is engaged by a folding'member in the form of a gate 208 whichis pivoted at 210 to the receiving end of the feed table 32. The

gate 208 functions in a manner similar to that of the member 206 topress the wrapper against the respective side of the article as thewrapper is fed upwardly past the gate by the rise of the article on theelevator. Thus, the wrapper is folded closely and smoothly against thesides of the article and is drawn tightly over the top face thereof.

At this stage of the wrapping operation the article is located in theposition indicated by the numeral I in Fig. 1, with the opposite endportions of the wrapper hanging loosely be-;

low the article. One of said end portions is comparatively short and isindicated by a dotted line at a, while the opposite end portion of thewrapper is substantiall as long as the width of the bottom face of t earticle which it is to cover and is indicated by a dotted line at b. Asthe elevator starts to descend the article is supported in position I,by a horizontal folding blade 214 which is normally located at the sideof the article facing the receiving end of the machine and which isadapted to advance beneath the article, said elevator platform beingconstructed with a step 215 at the forward edge (see Fig. 19) to permitsaid folding blade to advance a short distance beneath the article Whilethe elevator is in its uppermost position. The folding blade 214operates tofold the depending flap a of the wrapper against the lowerface of the article, the appearance of said flap, when thus folded beingindicated at a in Fig. 4. For the above purpose, the folding blade 214is shaped as best shown in Fig. 2 and is secured to the lower sides of apair of slide members 217 which are mounted for horizontal reciprocationon opposite sides of a guide bar 218, the latter being carried by theportion 238 of the fixed central beam 238. The folding blade 214 isnotched as indicated at 214 to permit the passage therethrough of thepresser foot 200 as the latter drops by ravity after an article. hasbeen advanced from the elevators to the feed table. The means foractuating the folding blade 214 includes various elements of themechanism for actuating the transporters 30 and accordingly adescription of said folding blade actuating means will be postponeduntil the means for actuating the transporters has been described.

To insure the smooth folding of the wrapper over the edge of the articleacross which the folding blade 214 reciprocates, a pair ofspring-pressed followers 220 (Fi s. 1 and 2) are carried adjacent theupper ace of said folding blade and the ends of said followers areadapted to engage the vertical side of the article adjacent said edge.To this end the followers 220 are constructed and mount- 5 i of thewrapper.

springs 222 substantially flush with the front edge of the folding blade214.

As the folding blade 214 advances, the leading edges of the followers220 engage the adjacent wrapped side of the article along a narrow areaimmediately adjacent the lower edge of the article. The followers thenare held against forward movement by the article and the spring 222 isstretched so that the wrapper is firmly pressed against the article whenit is engaged by the edge of the folding blade. As the articlesubsequently startsto advance across the feed table, as will shortly bedescribed, its bottom face slides over the folding blade 214 and thereis a tendency for the portion a of the wrapper to be displacedrearwardly as it'rides over the folding blade. However, thespring-pressed followers 220 then move relatively to the folding bladeto follow up the article and offset the tendency of said portion of thewrapper to become displaced. This arrangement insures that the wrapperwill be smoothly and closely folded over the above mentioned edge of thearticle.

The succeeding stages of the wrapping operation are performed as thepartially wrapped article is advanced, in the direction of the arrow 224in Fig. 1, across the feed table 32. The articles are advanced acrossthe feed table 32 by means of the transporter 30 which, although it iscontinuously operative, is moved into and out of engagement with thearticles at each cycle of its operation soas to advance the articlestep-by-step. Further, the transporter 30 is so constructed that afterthe machine has been once primed, the transporter operates upon a seriesof articles which are spaced apart along the feed table, tosimultaneously advance each article of the series through step movementsof equal length. As the articles of the series are thus simultaneouslyadvanced, or while they remain at rest during the periods betweensuccessive move-\ ments thereof, various folding devices'operate toeffect the folding of different portions The transporter 30, as bestshown in Figs. 1, 9, and 19, comprises a pair of bars 230 each having aseriesof fingers extending perpendicularly from one of theirlongitudinal edges, the fingers of one of these bars being indicated atA, B, C, D, E, and F, respectively, in Fig. 1. As shown the transporterbars are supported horizontally in the machine with the fingersdepending vertically therefrom. These transporter fingers projectsuccessively at spaced intervals from the transporter bars 230 and areadapted to engage the rear sides of the article. The transporter bars230 are spaced laterally apart and so arranged relatively to saidarticles that said fingers will engage adjacent the opposite ends of thearticles. The transporter bars 230 are severally pivotally mounted uponthe opposite ends of two parallel horizontal rods 232 (Fig. 9) whichrtend transversely of the machine just above the transporters. Thepivot-rods 232 are supported by two links 234, said links having earsdepending therefrom, intermediate their ends, through which the centralportions of the rods 232 severally extend and in which said rods areadapted to turn freely. The supporting links 234 are severally pivotallyconnected, at one end, to the upper extremities of two arms 236, thelatter, in turn, having their lower ends pivoted at 236 to the fixedbeam238. The opposite ends of the links 234 are pivoted upon crank-pinscarried by two crank-arms 242 severally secured to horizontalcrank-shafts 244 and 246 that are disposed in the same horizontal planeand are journaled in bearings formed upon the inner faces of one of theside frames 40. The crankshafts 244 and 246 are connected to rotate inunison by means of a link 248 pivoted at one end to a stud-249 carriedby a disk 250 that is fast upon the shaft 244, and at its opposite endto a stud 249 on disk 252 that is secured to the shaft 246.

The crank-shafts 244 and 246 are rotated flay driving connections withthe continuous- 1y rotating shaft 50. To this end, the crankshaft 246carries a sprocket wheel 254 which is connected by a sprocket chain 256with a similar sprocket wheel 258 carried by 'a transverse shaft 260,the latter being journaled in the frame of the machine below the shaft246. -The shaft 260 is connected to be driven by the shaft 50 byintermeshing spur gears 262. k

The rotation of the disk 250 is also utilized to actuate the folderblades 214. To this end, a link 262 is pivoted at one end upon the stud249 carried by said disk while. the opposite end of said link isconnected to the upper end of an arm 263 that is fixed to a shaft 264journaled in the side frames 40. The shaft 264 also has secured theretoan arm 266 and the lower end of this arm is connected by a link 268 withthe slide block members 217 that carry the folder plate 214.

It will be seen from an examination of Fig. 1 that the crank 242, thelink 234 and the arm 236 associated with one end of each transporter barare respectively equal in length and disposed in parallel relation tothe corresponding parts associated with the opposite ends of thetransporter bars, and consequently said parallel relations will bemaintained irrespective -of the radial positions of the cranks 242.Consequently, although the distance bctween the crank-shafts 244and thecorresponding pivot rod 232 continually varies, the distance between thecrank-shaft 246 and the other pivot 232 varies concurrently to the sameextent so that at any particular time in a cycle of operations, saiddistances are equal to each other and therefore the transporter bars areconstantly maintained horizontal and the trans porter fingers at alltimes extend vertically. urthermore the construction and arrangement ofthe parts is such that each transporter is constrained to travel in asubstantially horizontal path throughout the portion of its orbit inwhich itis advancing toward the delivery end of the machine.

The path of movement of one of the transorters is illustrateddiagrammatically in ig. 12. In this figure, the path of one of the pivotrods 232 is indicated by dotted lines at 270. Since the other pivot rod232 travels through a similar path, the path in dicated is illustrativeof the path of the transporter bars themselves and, as shown, theportion of that path traveled by the trans porter during the advancingportion of its movement is substantially horizontal, as above mentioned.

The above described horizontal movementas the articles are being fed.

By referring again to the diagrammatic representation of the orbittraveled by the transporters it will be seen that during the returnmovement of the transporters, after they have been effective to'advancean article,

.they are lifted considerably above the plane which they occu ied duringthe feed movement thereof. is movement of the transporters permits thetransporter fingers to pass rearwardly over the tops of the series ofarticles upon the feed table 32 so that they may be lowered into feedingposition with the finger A behind the article just raised by theelevator and each of the other transporter fingers engaging an articlewhich is one step ahead of the article engaged thereby at the proceedingcycle of operations.

The article raised by the elevator is first engaged and advanced by thefingers .A .of

.the transporter bars in order that it may be moved from position I toposition II. During this movement, the springressed followers 220followup the rear si e of the article, as already described, to insure asmoothly, wrapped lower corner by preventing the portion a of thewrapper which was folded against the bottom face of the article frombeing displaced by its movement across the folding plate 214. Also,during this movement, the pivoted gate 208 is swungwinto a recess 272 inthe feed table 32 and out of the previously folded against the bottom 0the article and inasmuch as the line of paste hereinhefore mentioned wasapplied to the por- 9 tion I) of the wrapper adjacent said edge, saidportion 6 will now be pasted to the portion a which it overlaps.

The wrapper has now been wrapped around the article so as to completelycover four sides thereof, the two i ends alone remainin exposed, and thewrapper extends beyon the opposite ends of the article at all four sidesthereof. The area of each end extension or flap of the wrapper isconsiderably less than the area of the corresponding end of the articleso that the wrapper extensions if folded over'the ends of the articleswould fail to enclose more than the marginal portions ofsaid ends.During the succeeding steps in the progress of the article across thefeed table, the end extensions of the wrapper are first folded to coverthe marginal portions of the ends of the article and then a label isapplied to 'each "end of the article to complete the wrapping thereof. pY Q The movement of the article from position II to position III is anidle movement effected by the fingers B of the transporters. The nextstep movement of the article carries it from position III to positionIV. This movement is effected by the finger C and as this finger movesinto posit-ion to initiate said movement, the portions of the wrapperextendin beyond the rear sides of the article are fol ed over pgrtion'thus against the 'ends of the article. The of the wrapper extensionwhich is to folded at one end of the article is indicated at e in Fig.4.

To fold the rear side extensions of the wrapper, the finger C of eachtransporter carries folded plates 276 which are secured to the outersides of said finger and are adapted to overlap the ends of the articlesas the transporters a're advanced. As the transporter fingers are swunginto position at the rear of an article in position III, each folderplate 276 moves through a path indicated by the de-- scending arrowheadsin the dotted line path 27 0 of Fig. 12. As the folder "plates 276 movein this path, the advancing curved edges thereof engagethe outwardlyextending end Ian av'e rtical plane so as to avoidinjuring the wrapperby coming too abruptly into contact therewith. The inner faces of thefolder T the article remains at rest on the feed table in position IIIand while the transporters are rising and returning preparatory toperformextension g in ing their next feed movement. The folding of thebottom end extensions is effected by means of a pair of verticallymovable folding plates 27 8 one at each side of the machine andseverally carried by slide blocks 280, the latter being guided by meansof suitable vertical guide-rods 282 depending from the feed table.Theslide blocks 280 are adapted to be reciprocated upon the guide-rods282 to cause the folder plates 278 to move to and from operativepositions. When operatively positioned, the folder plates 278 closelyoverlap the opposite ends of the article and in moving into thisposition they foldthe bottom end flaps of the wrapper upwardly againstthe ends of thearticle, the folded extensions then having the appearanceof the Fig. 5. The rising and fall ing movements of the folder plates278 are timed to take place before the folder blades 276 carried by thetransporters-swing into position for folding the endextensions e inorder to avoid any conflict between said folder members. To effect thereciprocation of the slide blocks 280, carrying the folded plates 27 8,said blocks are connected by links 284 with the oscillatory arms 172already described. The oscillation of the arms 172,

- therefore raises and lowers the folder plates 278 simultaneously withthe up and'down I movements of the elevators 22.

, After the folding operation, just described, has been completed, thearticle is next moved to positionIV by. the fingersDof the transporter.In moving 'from osition III to position IV, the forward end extensionsof the wrapper at the advancing side of the article,

' one of which is indicated at h in Fig. 5, are

folded. The folding of the extensions h is effected by the advance ofthe article between stationary folder plates 288 which rise at o positesides of the feed table 32 and are rigi ly supported in any suitablemanner. As

' the article is advanced between the stationary folder plates 288 theend extensions h are folded closely against the ends of the articleuntil the appear as represented in Fig. 6.

In ad ition to the folding operation just described, the horizontallyprojecting upper endextensiens of the wrapper, one of which is shown at7' in Fig. 5, are first bent 11pwardly, as indicated in Fig. 6, andlater are folded downwardly against the ends of the article, asindicated in Fig. 7. The preliminary upward folding of the upper endextensions is effected by the inclined edges 290 on the folding plates288. These edges 290 engage the outwardly directed end extensions j asthe article advances and cause the extensions 7' to be bent up sharplyuntil member 292. As shown in Figs. 1 and 14,v

the folding members 292 are of irregular elongated shape and one end ofeach member is pivoted upon a stud 294 which projects from the outerside of the respective folding plate 288, just at the rear of theinclined edge face 290. From its pivoted end each folding member 292rises vertically to a point above the top face of the articles on thefeed table and then extends forwardly toward the delivery end of themachine, and downwardly to provide a downwardly inclined folding face295 on its under side. The forward extremity of the folding member 292is connected with the forward portion of the folding plate 288 by avertical stud 296 (Fig. 14) which extends through said member and isthreaded at its lower end into the plate 288. A spring 298 is arrangedaround the stud 296 so as normally to force the rear end of the foldingmember 292 downwardly against the adjacent portion of the plate 288. Asthe upstanding end extensions 7' of the wrapper advance beyond theinclined folding edges 290 they reach cut away portions 299 of thefolder plates 288. Thereupon the wrapper extensions j tend to return totheir original horizontal positions and in'so doing they project acrossthe vertical planes of the inclined folding edges 295. These wrapperextensions are then engaged from behind by the inclined folding edges295 and are folded down by said edges until the extensions finally wipeacross the inner side faces at the rear ends of the folding members 292and are pressed thereby against the ends of the article.

Each folding member 292 is also provided with a horizontal lip 300 whichprojects from its inner side and is adapted to overlie the upper face ofthe article adjacent its op- Ira posite ends (see Fig. The springs 298permit the lips 300 to be lifted Slightly as the article is forcedbeneath the latter; The end portions of the lips 300 which are firstengaged by the article, are beveled as shown at 302 in Fig. 14, topermit the article to force its way beneath said lips. It will beobvious that the resiliency of the springs 296 will permit the lipstoyield upwardly as the article is forced beneath them, the members 292tilting about the pivot studs 294 as the lips rise.

. As the ends of the article pass beneath the lips 300 the latter arepressed downwardly against the ends of the article and prevent anypossible wrinkling or displacement of the upper end extensions due tothe wipingof said extension across the faces of the members 292 whilesaid extensions are being pressed thereby againstthe ends of thearticle. Thus the lips 300 insure that the wrapper will fit closely atthe opposite edges of the upper faces of the article. To avoid conflictbetween the lips 300 and the fingers E of the transporters as saidfingers advance past the folding members 292 said fingers may be groovedas indicated by dotted'lines at 293 in Fig, 21.

As an article advances from position I until it reaches position V whereit engages the lips 300, the upper face of the article rides beneath aseries of pressure plates 303 (Figs. 1 and 22) which are mountedadjacent the under sides of thepair of longitudinal bars 304 which arearranged at opposite sides of the beam- 238. The pressure plates 303 aresu ported by vertical studs 306 which pass free y through apertures inthe beams 3O4 and are. threaded at their upper ends to-receive nuts 307which bear against the upper faces of said beam to limit the downwardmovement of the pressure plates. The pressure plates are presseddownwardly by springs 308 which.

are coiled around the supporting studs 306 between the plates and thebeams 304 and per mit the pressure plates to yield upwardly-as thearticles pass beneath them. Each transporter bar also carries threepresser plates 309 which are urged downwardly by-suitable springsagainst the upper faces of the articles as the end extensions of thewrappers are being folded. The pressure plates 303 and 309 serve toprevent upward displacement of-the articles so that the several wrapperextensions of all the articles operated upon Will be presented in thesame relative positions to the action of the various folding devices. In

this way the pressure plates 303 and 309 facilitate the production ofuniformly wrapped articles. 1 v The folding of the wrapper has now beencompleted and the opposite ends of the arti- "cle appear asillustratedin Fig. 7. As shown,

the ends of the article are not completely covered by the wrappershowever, and the next operation to be performed is the application ofthe, labels tothe ends of the articles to of the'article during thisfeed movement, by

the label-applying mechanisms 34.

The label-applying mechanisms, indicated generally as 34 are arranged induplicate, one at each sideof the machine. Both label-applyingmechanisms are identical in construction'and mode of operation andaccordingl specifically. v

Eadrlabel-applying mechanism 34, com,- prises a magazine 310 for holdinga supply I labels, and a label-aflixing device 312, in the general formof a drum, which is rotatable about a vertical axis between themagazine'- and the feedtable 32. The device or drum 312 is provided:with ninpers for seizing a label in the magazine and causing it to bewithdrawn therefrom, and the drum is rotated insuch a manner thatthelabel will be drawn over a'portion of the cylindrical shell of thedrum and later rolled against the end of; an article by; the rotation ofthe drum as the article is advanced into engagement there-- with. Thelabel-afiixing drum is provided with three label-seizing nippers and isinterv y so only one of them will be herelnafter described mittentlyrotated through steps of one hundred and twenty degrees and the nippersare successively caused to seize theend of a label at each stoppingposition of the drum. A label is removed from the magazine 310 in onepartial rotation of 'the drum and aflixed to an article at the nextpartial rotation of the drum.

The labels are supported on the edge in the magazine 310 between a frontplate 314 (Fig. 17 and ,a-follower 316, the latter being constantlyurged in a forward direction by any suitable means to advance the stackin the magazine as the labels are successively re: moved from theforward end thereof. The front plate 314 is-cut away at one edge toprovide a space 318 through which the foremost label may be removed fromthe magazine, (see Fig. 17). Thelabels are acted upon, one at a time, bymeans of a vertically disposed suction tube or plate 320 which ismounted adjacent the opening 318 and which is operative to move theforward edge 328. Each plate 326 terminates atoneof its vertical edgesin a fixed jaw 330 that is adaptedto cooperate with a movable nipper 332so that the edges of the labels may be seized thereby.

The suction tube 320 is illustrated in detail in Figs. 17 and 18 and maybe of any well known construction, having a flattened perforatedfaceagainst which the labels are to be drawn. The suction tube isadapted to be rocked-about its vertical axis and is normally disposed inthe angular position illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 17. When inthis position, the air is exhausted therefrom and the marginal portionof the foremost label in the magazine 310 will be drawn against theperforated face of the suction tube. The suction tube is then rotatedinto the angular position shown by full lines in Fig. 17, swinging saidmarginal portion of the label outwardly. into position to be grasped byone of the gripper fingers or nippers 332 carried by the label-afixingdevices 312. Inasmuch as the device 312 carries three nippers, the camby which the suction tube is oscillated is designed .to swing thesuction tube forwardly three times at each revolution of the drum. Thiscam is fixed to the drum 312 as shown at 322 in Fig. 15 and iscooperatively engaged by a cam roll 323 carried by an arm 324 projectingfrom the suction tube.

' The two label-affixing mechanisms 34 are adjustable toward and fromthe feed table32 in order that they may be adapted to apply labels tothe opposite ends of articles of different lengths. To this end, saidmechanisms 34, together with the actuating means therefor are mounted onindependent frame sections or plates 333 and 334, these frame sectionsbeing supported for sliding movements transversely of the machine. Forthis pur-,

pose one end of each of'the frame sections 333 and 334 is provided witha transverse guideway 335 (Figs. 14, 15,-and 21) adapted to be slidablyor adjustably mounted on a transverse supporting bar 336. the oppositeends of which are rigidly secured to the side frames 40, while theopposite ends of. said frame sections are supported by and adapted toslide longitudinally of a tie-rod 337 which connects the side frames 40.To adapt other parts of the machine to operate upon articles ofdifferent lengths various adjustments of operating parts may be securedmerely by the removal of certain of the supporting rods or othersupporting members and the substitution therefor of rods or members ofthe required lengths or sizes. Each nipper 332 is carried by a verticalrockshaft 338 and is constantly urged into cooperative relation with itsrespective fixed jaw 330 by aspring 339 acting upon an arm 340 fixed tothe rockshaft 338. At its lower extremity each rockshaft 338 has afiixedthereto a lateral projection 341 (Fig. 16) adapted to ride against theperiphery of a stationary cam 342. With this construction the nippers332- will be influence of the cam 342, the nippers are suddenly closedby their spring 339 to seize the label presented thereto by the suctiontube 320. This last mentioned operation occurs just prior to thecompletion of-each rotary step movement of'the label-afiixing drumwvhich almost immediately thereafter comes to a complete stop. Thenippers are thus enabled to securely grip the labels and inasmuch as thestart of each step movement of the drum is comparatively slow as willhereinafter be explained, there is "no tendency for the nippers to pullaway from the labels. The nippers or fingers 332 are preferablyconstructed of light spring steel and provision is made to insure thespring nippers against possibility of breakage due to continued bendingthereof as they are suddenly brought into contact with the fixed jaws330 by the force of the springs To this end, a rigid finger 345 (Fig.17) is secured to each rock shaft 338 and this finger carries a. stopscrew 347 which is adapted to co-operate with a stop shoulder 349 on thedrum to-take the shock of the closing movement of the nipper. The screw347 is adapted for adjustment so that when the nipper has closed, itwill yield sufficiently to. firmly grip the label but not enough tobend'itself to any appreciable extent and consequently there is notendency for to become weakened from continued use.

The means for exhausting air from the suction tubes 320 consists of apump 343 (Fig. 3) comprising a cylinder pivoted at 344 to a rigidportion of the machine. The pump cylinder 343 is provided with a piston(not shown) adapted to reciprocate therein. The

pump piston is .provided with a piston rod 345 which is connecteddirectly with the nearer of the two links236 of the transportermechanism. The pump is connected by a flexible hose 346 with one end ofeach of the suction tubes 320. The arrangement is such that the suctionstroke of the piston occurs during the advancing stroke of thetransporters so that the suction tubes may be rendered operative duringthe partial rotations faces of the labels as they are being rotated bymeans of the label-affixing drum from the magazine 310 into engagementwith the ends of the articles on the feed table. To this end, a glue pot347' is suitably supported adjacent the label-afiixing device 312 and averof the label-affixing drums which take place but will; not be engagedby the segmental 7 plates 326 constituting the drum, if no label is 364extends.

tically disposed glue roll 348 is located in an opening in'one of theside walls of'the glue pot, the arrangement being such that when a labelis fed by one of the segmental plates afiixing drum, by means ofintermeshing gearing-comprising a pinion 350 (Fig. 16), secured to thelower trunnion of the glue roll, and a gear 352, secured to theintermittently rotatable shaft 328. Preferably, the glue roll 348 ismounted with provision for a slight amount of adjustment toward and fromthe label-affixing drum, as, for example, by being carried upon apivoted arm 354 adapted to turn on a pivot stud 356 and to be rigidlysecured in adjusted position upon the pivot stud, as by the tighteningof the head of the stud against the arm 354. It is intended to adjustthe roll 348 so that it will be engaged by the outer face of a label fedpast the roll by the rotation of the label-aflixing drum presentthereon. Thus the drum will not become smeared with glue, if forexample, the supply of labels becomes exhausted or if, for any reason,the labels fail to feed properly.

The drums of the two label-applying mechanisms 34 are rotated throughsuccessive rotations of one hundred and twenty degrees each, by means ofthe following mechanism.

A bevel gear 360 (Fig. 14) is secured to the lower ends of the drumshafts 328 of each of the label-applying mechanisms. Meshing with eachbevel gear 360 is a bevel gear 362 that is secured to a transverse shaft364, said shaft being journaled in bearings in the side frame members 40and the gears 362 being located on the shaft adjacent the inner sides ofsaid frame members. At one end of the shaft 364, near the outer side ofthe adjacent frame member 40 is secured a ratchet-wheel 366 having threenotches equally spaced apart in its periphery. The ratchet wheel 366 isactuated by a pawl 368 which is pivotally mounted upon a pawl carrier370 that is mounted to oscillate freely upon the shaft 364. The hub ofthe oscillatory pawl-carrier arm 370 has formed thereon a rack segment372 and meshing with this rack segment is a rack 37 4 carried by a link376. The link 376 is pivotally mounted at one end, upon a crank-pin 37 8carried by a disk 380 which is fast upon one end of the shaft 260. Theother end of the link 376 is provided with a longitudinal slot 382through which the shaft The slotted end of the link 376 is confinedbetween the ratchet-wheel 366 and 'a collar 377 that is secured to theend of the struction, one-third of a revolution will be imparted to theshaft 364 at each rotation of the continuously operating shaft 260. Itwill be apparent that one-half of the rota.- tion of the shaft 260 willbe effective to advance the pawl 368 in a direction to effect partialrotation of the ratchet-wheel 37 2 and shaft 364, while during thesucceeding half turn of the shaft 260 the pawl 368 will be retractedidly over the ratchet wheel and the label-aflixing drums will remain atrest. It will also be seen that the arrangement of the crank-pin 378 andthe connections to the shaft 364 are such that the l'abel-afiixing drumswill start gradually from their positions of rest and reach a maximumrate ofrotation at the middle of their feed movements. By reason of theslow start of rotation of the drums there is no tendency for the nipperscarried thereby to be pulled out of holding engagement with the labels.

At the completion of that cycle of operations of the transporters 30 inwhich the labels are applied, the article which has just received thelabels has reached position VI '(Fig. 3) upon'the feed table 32. The op-.posite ends of the article now appear as illustrated in F ig; 8. Whilethe completely wrapped and labeled article remains at rest in positionVI no further operation is performed upon it. At the succeeding cycle ofthe transporters, however, the article is ad-' vanced by the transporterfingers F between the belts 36 of the delivery conveyer. To insure thatthe article shall be properly positioned longitudinally for entrancebetween the opposed stretches of the belts 36, two vertical positioningplates 390 (Fig. 21) are provided adjacent the receiving ends of thebelts, the plates being spaced apart just sufliciently to permit thearticle to be fed between them. In order that the freshly applied labelsshall no be displaced or rubbed off from the ends of the article as thearticle is advanced between the positioning plates, the plates areconstructed and arranged to engage the opposite ends of the article onlyalong lines above and below the labels. To this end each positioningplate 390 is provided with upper and lower horizontal flanges 392'(Figs. 14, 19, and 21) which project inwardly to engage the ends of thearticle. These flanges are so located that the labels will not beengaged thereby as the article is fed toward the belts 36.

The delivery conveyer operates to advance the articles along an"extension 386 of the feed table 32, while keeping the labels pressedagainst the ends of the articles durln the setting or drying of the glueand final y to deliver the articles from the machine. The extension 386of the feed table 32 is rigidly secured, at its inner end, to a portionof the frame, while its outer end is supported bya brace 388.

